Dreams Never Die
by Irhaboggles
Summary: Dreams Never Die. It was a message Kara Zor-El had heard all her life. And it proved true time and time again. What she wasn't prepared for, though, was just how literal that little phrase of hers would truly become... Yet here she is now! Back on Krypton! Even after its supposed destruction, everyone is happy and healthy and alive once again. Dare she believe it?


Dreams never die. That was what Kara Zor-El had always been told. Even since her early childhood, this lesson that dreams never die was taught and told to her over and over again. Dreams never die.

Even as Krypton burned all around her, Kara Zor-El's parents continued to preach this message to her.

"Never forget that we love you, and we will always be family! We will always be together even if it doesn't seem like it!" Alura kissed her daughter's forehead as they parted ways, one headed towards a bleak but hopeful future while the other headed towards certain destruction.

"As long as you remember us, we will never truly die. We will live on, in your heart and mind and memory!" Zor-El agreed, taking his turn to kiss his beloved daughter one last time. She was sobbing too hard to do more than nod, but she promised them that she would never, ever forget them.

"As long as I live, I will remember you!" she vowed as they placed her into the pod set to take her to salvation. She almost didn't want to go... But she was sent away anyway, just in time to watch the rest of her planet go up in an inferno. Her parents' final words never quite stopped ringing in her ears even after the stars went dark, cold and silent once again.

"Dreams never die..."

And those words became truer than Kara could've ever imagined. Even after starting over and finding a new life on Earth, taking up the surname "Danvers", Kara continued to dream of Krypton all the time. Every night she went back home, shedding Earth and Danvers for Krypton and Zor-El. Her old family would rise again, the new ones quickly fading back out of her mind and memory. Dreams never died, as was proof in the places Kara travelled to every night. Her family didn't just live on in her waking memory, but in her resting one as well. They came back to life every night under starlight and moonlight. Dreams never die...

But those words took on a very literal meaning when Kara was forced under a Black Mercy. Although she was unaware of the true nature of her plight, she was brought back to Krypton once again.

"Impossible! This must be a dream!" she cried in dismay as she woke up to find her mother waiting for her at the foot of the bed.

"But dreams never die, Kara, and you know that!" her phantom mother replied serenely. "And surely, you must've also known that Rao would bring us all back together again one day?" she pleaded as she reached out to touch Kara's face. Kara fought the urge to yank away.

"Impossible!" she repeated, but as she looked out the window, she realized that this woman (who claimed to be her mother) was right. She in fact back on Krypton, only this time, she was also awake...

"Dreams never die, Kara, you know this. And now, they have finally come back fully to life once again. You are _home_. Isn't it wonderful?"

But while Kara's mind was sent back to Krypton, her body remained on Earth, trapped under the Black Mercy and all of its sick, twisted influences. Alex, Hank and Maxwell were there, each of them trying to figure out how to remove the evil plant from Kara's chest without accidently killing in her in the process. They had tried to pry it off with physical force, but it had nearly killed the Kryptonian, causing her to flatline temporarily. But even though her physical body had flatlined, her mind remained totally unaware. As far as she was concerned, she had only been chatting with her mother and father about what her roles as a future member of the High Council would entail. But even though Kara remained oblivious to the true peril she was in, Hank, Alex and Maxwell were all too aware of the high stakes that they were currently facing. They were in the waking world and had no dreams to escape to, unlike Kara.

For a week, Hank, Alex and Maxwell did all that they could to wake Kara up, but they were unable to find any functioning cure. Kara, meanwhile, slipped deeper and deeper into her dreamworld, slowly becoming more and more convinced that it was her reality. The tables turned and Krypton became her waking world while Earth became the thing of fantasy. Alex, Hank, and all of Kara's other Earthly friends quickly became no more than foggy memories. She was returning to her old life on Krypton. That 13-year gap Kara spent on Earth became a 13-month delusion caused by the Argo Fever. All of the names, faces and places Kara had seen on Earth were no more than literal fever-dreams. Krypton was reality. Krypton was truth. And with Hank, Alex and Maxwell unable to wake Kara up, she began to believe it. But dreams never die...

No matter what Kara did in the daytime, no matter how much she was steeped in Kryptonian culture, her mind always managed to find its way back to Earth and her body during the night. Every time she went to bed on Krypton, she woke up on Earth once again. Every night was a new and different dream, but every single one took her back to the ones named "Hank", "Alex", "Winn", "James" and "Cat". Even if she forgot it all by the next morning, every night sent her back home to Earth.

But as the yellow sun of her dreams set with every morning, the red sun of Krypton would rise again and erase her mind. She would forget National City and she would forget her ability to fly. She would forget her family, friends and coworkers. But the feelings would linger on. Dreams never died, after all, and even if they faded the longer one remained awake, they never truly went away entirely... Dreams never die.

By Day 10 of Kara's plight, Hank, Alex and Maxwell were all torn away from their project.

"It's Non!" Hank growled as he received a call from one of his other DEO agents. The evil Kryptonian was plotting his first big attack.

"Well, have fun saving the day without Supergirl!" Maxwell taunted them callously. Alex was quick to put him in a headlock.

"You're coming with us!" she snarled as she slowly strangled him.

"And why should I do that?!" Maxwell managed to spit through Alex's chokehold.

"Because this guy is just as much your enemy as ours!" Alex reminded him, tightening her hold on him. "Non will destroy this entire planet, so if you want to still be alive by the next sunrise, you're going to help us _today_!" and Maxwell was forced to concur. Alex let him slump to the ground with disgust before she turned her gaze back on Hank.

"Shall we suit up?" she asked and he gave her one firm nod in response.

Right before Alex and the others left to fight Non, however, Alex made one last visit to Kara.

"The sun will shine upon us again, sis," she promised Kara's motionless body. She pressed a kiss to the sleeping alien's face, sealing her vow. Every night for those past 10 days, Alex had dreamt of Kara. Whether it was a blessing or curse, she did not know. All she knew was that dreams never died, and even though Kara was no longer able to be with her in the waking world, Kara had somehow followed her into the dreaming one.

But Alex was still adamant about saving Kara and waking her up eventually. There would come a day when they reunited, no matter how far away that day was. One day, they would be able to be together in the waking world once again and the dreamworld would no longer be necessary. Alex would, hopefully, stop seeing Kara only in the moonlight and, once again, be blessed with being able to see her in the sunlight. This was a promise she was making, and she was determined to keep it no matter what.

"I promise you, we will find a way..." Alex whispered, then she ran back out to join the rest of the DEO as they prepared for the war against Non. Alex hated having to leave her sister alone in such critical condition, but if she didn't join the fight against Non now, there would be nothing left for Kara to wake up to, so this had to be done. She could only hope that Kara would still be alive by the time the battle was over... But Alex was not going to stop fighting until the battle was truly over. She would never ever give up hope, because dreams never die. Her dream of seeing Kara awake and alive once again was never, ever going to die.

Dreams never die. That was what Kara Zor-El had always been told. Even since her early childhood, this lesson that dreams never die was taught and told to her over and over again. Her parents and Aunt Astra and little cousin Kal-El reminded her of that lesson every day. They reminded her of how she had nearly been done in by the Argo Fever, and yet their faith and hope in her had kept them strong until the day she finally woke up and reunited with them.

"Our dream of you never died," they told her enthusiastically. "And look what Rao rewarded us with!" and Kara could only agree.

"Dreams never die," she nodded, quick to rush into their embrace. They hugged her tightly. Almost a bit too tightly. She found it hard to breathe, like something heavy tightening over her chest. But it was still such a good feeling that she reveled in it. She never wanted it to end. She was home now. After that terrible fever, she had been returned to her family by the grace and goodness of Rao. Now, she never wanted to leave them again.

Dreams never die. That was what she had always been told, and it was proving true even still today. But every night, she would still return to Earth. Even though the dreams got hazier and hazier every single night, she could still remember the warm yellow sun on her back, and the cool winds beneath her body as she soared over the city skyline. She could still see Hank's stern visage. She could still hear Alex's teasing voice. She could still smell potstickers. No matter how faint those dreams became, Kara still visited Earth every single night. Those dreams never died.

Then one night, Kara found herself falling asleep, but for once, it felt… strange. There really was no word to describe what she was feeling, but it was like a strange mix of anxiety and anticipation, like something big and possibly scary was about to happen, but she wanted for it to happen nonetheless. As she snuggled up under her blankets, dimly noticing how very tight they felt tonight, she felt herself falling asleep and waking up at the same time, as paradoxical as that might've sounded.

But then, all at once, the tightness around her chest from the blankets was gone and she was soaring through the clouds once again. It was a wonderful, blissful feeling, and all throughout the flight, she could hear her parents' voices echoing in her mind over and over again: Dreams never die! She smiled and agreed silently as she continued to soar up, up and away. Higher and higher she went until all she could see were clouds. No more ground, no more city skyline, just an endless sea of white clouds. Higher, further and faster she flew. Even when she should've started growing concerned, thinking about coming back down, she continued to fly onward and upward. It was as if her very ability to worry had suddenly vanished and she could no longer do anything except fly! …

Outside, an explosion. Outside, a victory, but at a very high cost. Outside, a soft and droning hum. No one was there to hear it. Not for many, many hours. Not Alex, nor Hank, nor Maxwell. No one heard it. Not even Kara. Not anymore. All she could hear was the echo of her family, getting softer and softer until it melted away into the endless white sea she was flying through. She couldn't even feel her body anymore, but she seemed to have lost the ability to feel afraid as well. Instead, it was only whiteness, and then nothingness. And one final thought, one final feeling. _Dreams never die._

But their dreamers?

**AN:**** LenaLuthorSupergirlFan2015, here's your "The Black Mercy kills Kara" AU. I know this isn't quite how you wanted it, but I honestly found your prompt better suited to be poetic than "story-ish", so here's what you got. Hope you still like it, even if it wasn't how you envisioned it. **


End file.
